Blood is Not Everything
by theoncomingwind
Summary: The Council was meant to be informed if the Stargate was unburied, but they weren't. Now they know, what will they do? How will Sam react when she finds out her little sis isn't insane? And what does 'wiggy' mean? No lemons, but lots of talk and violence.
1. Slayers, Watchers, and Air Force, Oh My!

No POV

Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was confused. This in itself wasn't a strange occurrence; it happened every time he talked to Carter. Still. This was different.

He stared at his red phone before giving a passing SF an annoyed command. The President had just called him. This normally wouldn't be a problem. Odd, yes, but not a problem. The problem was that he had just been ordered to allow two _civilians_ that were currently _at the entrance_ into his base for full disclosure of the project, no questions asked. He had no names, no organizations, and only the President's word that they could be trusted. Sure, he liked the President well enough, but he could be a bit too trusting sometimes.

Needless to say, Jack was pissed.

There was a slight commotion outside and he got up to check, nearly stumbling in shock at what he saw.

Two people were being led down the hallway by a nervous looking SF, officers and airmen alike moving quickly out of the way, flashes of fear dancing in their eyes as they hurried off.

Now he was curious. He examined the man first.

He looked kind of like how Daniel might turn out, tall with grey hair, wearing a tweed suit and glasses. He was not young, but was standing tall and proud. His face showed no emotion beyond indifference, a spark of amusement quickly hidden in his eyes being the only exception as he observed the almost-chaos around him. He exuded a sense of calm, steady assurance, yet he moved like a man used to fighting for his life, a man weariness had caught up to but not yet taken over. There was a mercilessness there. This was a man who would protect those he cared about at all costs and fight proudly beside any he deemed worthy. Jack could respect this man easily, though he didn't have to like him.

He looked at his companion next.

The first thought he had was that this woman was dangerous. She wore a not-quite-skintight set of black fighting clothes, standing in a slightly defensive position though not obviously so, and she moved with the lethal grace of a predator without seeming to even notice. She was like a jungle cat poised forever to spring, the slight smirk indication that she always caught her "prey". To anyone else she would have looked normal. Short, blonde, hazel eyes; looking naïve, beautiful, and ageless. The military personnel, though… They saw a war veteran in her eyes, the feature that was causing the battle-hardened officers to shift away in discomfort and fear. In the way they never stopped moving, searching for threats, never stopping for longer than an instant. They were cold, calculating, fearless, inspiring an instinctive, wary respect. She was the top of the food chain, and she knew it. And quite frankly, she looked _almost _as good as Carter in that leather- but then, he might be biased. Still: Dangerous.

Jack POV

As my "guests" were brought into the brought into the briefing room, I noticed Major Davis following behind, looking worried. The woman that had just entered glanced at me, at the closed blast doors and back before rolling her eyes as if she knew exactly what was behind them, and I had the impossible sense that she did. And she wasn't pleased.

Our odd little group sat down. This ought to be interesting. The mystery man spoke first.

"Good day to you, General O'Neill. May I assume you have already received your orders?"

My eyes narrowed. They knew how strange this was, and took control of the meeting seemingly without a thought. Add in that he had a British accent and things didn't seem to be headed anywhere good. The last thing I needed was an international incident. "From the President, yes." I continued at the lack of response. "I would very much like to know who I'm speaking to."

"I'm sure you would." The woman finally spoke, her voice amused yet with a threatening undercurrent that could not be ignored. I couldn't repress the shiver that ran up my spine as she again turned her gaze on me. There was something primal there, and I wondered if I wanted to know just what would happen if it was set loose. Who were these people? "For now, you can call me Ace."

The British guy, whom I have now dubbed Mystery Man, turned to "Ace" in question and she shook her head minutely. So she was in charge, though she clearly respected him. Interesting. She spoke again.

"I only told you that so if we must work together in the future, you may call me by a name everyone knows," she paused with a mildly annoyed expression "and maybe get them to stop using that infernal title."

Her companion _Employee?_ chuckled and raised a Teal'c-esque eyebrow. "Infernal?"

She groaned before replying "I have officially been spending too much time with you."

Mystery Man smirked. "Indeed. Perhaps you will even begin to speak proper English outside formal settings."

Ace let out a sort of feline snarl, making Jack flinch back. "Shut it, Mr. Tweed. No matter what I speak like, at least I'll never drink tea." She turned back to Jack "So. General. If you would like to begin?"

"Er, yeah. Right." Jack shifted uncomfortably, somewhat off-put by the sudden change in attitude. He glanced at the red phone, sighed, and began. "In 1928, on a dig in Giza, a Dr. Langford found a mysterious artifact that we call the 'Stargate'…"

'Ace' POV

Around three hours later, the General finally wound down, but I was barely listening anymore. They were fools! Opening the Chappa'ai without informing the Slayer? They almost go the planet destroyed as many times as we had saved it; almost made all those lives be lost for nothing! How dare they? They were playing with things too big for them, like a toddler on a roller coaster without an adult. When I was done with them, they would be lucky to be-

_Chill, B._ I heard Faith's voice resonating through our link. _They were idiots, yes, and they undid many good sisters' work, but killing them won't help. Trust me, I know._

I sighed and rubbed my temples. _I know. But we still should have known the moment the cover stone was lifted._

_Yeah, that_is_weird. Could the spells have worn away over time?_

_I don't… Wait; was there an apocalypse that year?_

_Fuck. The signal was lost. We should still ask about the spells, though. Suspicious otherwise, ya know?_

_Shit._ I stifled a groan. Oh, well. The idiots' lives would be spared, for now. _Thanks for calming me down, Fai. Later._

_Later, B._ I felt her retreat into her own mind as I tuned back in to the conversation taking place around me.

Giles was getting more specifics on our "allies" as the General grudgingly answered his questions. Going off what I heard, this place wasn't really half bad. Still, they should have left well enough alone. What part of 'A million years into the sky is Ra, sun god, sealed and buried for all time' did they not understand?

I suppose Hayes really does have a good guy in charge here, though- too bad Jack had already been Claimed. It was obvious the first time I looked into his eyes. People said that you could see a person's soul in their eyes, and for slayers this was somewhat true. While we didn't see actual souls, we could see a person's essence, and if there had been a Claim. Claiming is actually very rare; not only did the couple in question have to be in love, there had to be a mutual trust and respect. A desire to do everything they could to protect the other, yet the control to let what needed to happen, happen, no matter how painful. But it was quite clear in him. I could see the green breeze moving quietly in the background of his essence, which was more like an overcast sky in the calm before a storm. Yet for some reason the breeze seemed familiar to me, calming, yet forming a sense of sadness and betrayal in my mind I couldn't quite explain.

I sensed someone coming down the hall, and the pieces clicked into place. _Please, not her. I can't face her. I don't want to face her!_

I caught Giles' eye and he wrapped things up as I stood to leave. "If you'll excuse us, Deuce and Dusk will no doubt be getting anxious by now. Ace, shall we?"

"Yes, let's."

_I resent that, B!_

_I know._

We moved quickly towards the elevator and I began to feel relief as the doors started to close. Then _She_ came around the corner.

I froze, trying to keep my emotions off my face, but I think her shock was mirrored in my own eyes. Right before my view of her was cut off, I heard her whisper one word, so quietly I almost missed it even with my enhanced hearing. My eyes widened in pain and surprise- I'd not been called that in so long…

"Elizabeth…"

The doors clicked shut and the long ascent began, but I couldn't get her out of my head. Lt. Col. Samantha Carter.

The woman who taught me everything I knew pre-Calling.

The woman who abandoned me in a mental institution.

The woman my sisters both longed to meet and wished never existed.

Sammy Carter.

My older sister.

Sam POV

I stood frozen in the hallway, uncertain if that had really just happened. _It can't have been real. Why would she be here, anyway? It's classified!_Still, the look on her face after I whispered the name of my younger sister… It was almost as if she had heard me, and recognized the name. But she can't have. Even if it was her, which it _wasn't_, she would have been much too far away, right?

"Carter?" I snapped out of my trance to turn to my _fine_ CO. _Bad Sam. Still…_

"Sir." I nodded to him "Who were those people?" I really did want to know- it wasn't often the SGC had unexpected guests. From our own planet, anyway.

Jack glanced at all the curious personnel around us and dragged me back to his office. My skin tingled where his hand gripped my wrist, and I really didn't want him to let go, regs or no regs. I decided not to think about that in favor of answers. I could deal with my arguing heart and mind later.

He turned to me with a troubled look. "I have no idea who they are. My clearance isn't high enough. I was ordered to brief them by the President. All I know is that the man had a British accent, the woman was in charge, and she called herself 'Ace'."

I sat down with a soft thump, my mind working the odds of this all being one huge coincidence. _I called Elizabeth that when she started rebelling against Dad… No. Not her. It can't be. Not here._I took a deep breath "That's all you know?"

He nodded "That and that she somehow scared respect into everyone who saw her without doing a thing. Myself included. It was like she was a predator, and we were only left alive on a whim. It was…" He paused, and then looked me in the eye "Disturbing."

His frankness with me would have been normal talking about anything else, but not feelings. I knew full well that he didn't like talking about those, unfortunately. And this terrified me more than anything else.

"I thought you had the highest clearance?" I changed the subject to another point I had grabbed at- it was kind of worrying that the CO of the planet's first line of defense didn't have the clearance to know everything he may need to.

"Me, too," he had that endearing look of confusion that… _Enough_ Colonel. _Focus!_ "But apparently 'Ace' and everything about her is protected with the help of multiple countries. She even has diplomatic immunity here, _and_the support of the President. This could turn into a huge problem if I don't cooperate. I'd like you to do some investigating, if you don't mind. Just don't do anything that can trace back to you. Please." He was looking really worried. How could I say no?

"Yes sir, I'll do my best." And, the worry was back, along with a nagging feeling that I knew the woman. I suppose that's actually possible, it's just not Elizabeth. It can't be. I'd know.

Right?

**A/N: Okay, I didn't really change much here, more just condensed things.**


	2. Of Stalking and Families

Buffy POV

The moment Giles and I pulled out of the last checkpoint in our Prius (Giles insisted), he had me dial up headquarters in Cleveland to check in while he called Dawn (who we referred to as Dusk when dealing with anyone we weren't sure we could trust) back at the room to start coordinating research assignments. Yup, there's a twenty-eight-year-old woman who looks twenty-one in charge of research for the IGO and the many schools it sponsors around the world.

It would probably piss her off and make her act like a little kid or Andrew on Christmas at the same time if she found out that Faith and I pretty much had all the knowledge we needed nowadays.

I could practically see Faith rolling her eyes as she picked up on that thought while I spoke with the Watcher on duty, and I asked him to brief her on the situation as payback… and because Giles thought she was waiting anxiously to find out what happened.

I smothered a laugh as the Watcher agreed and the other Chosen growled at me. No one knows about our link- it made its first appearance when we were actively hunting each other. We had an almost instinctive idea of where the other was. It also kept me from killing her. She was my sister-Slayer, the only other person on this plane of existence that could understand what I went through. The shared dreams and mental conversations actually helped us a lot over the years, not the least when we talked things out while she was in prison, so we already worked well together when the battle with the First went down. Not that anyone else knew that.

There's actually a lot about the Slayer that the Council never knew, and we have to keep it that way with the International Guardians Organization, too. The true power of the Chosen must be hidden until the true end of the world, lest someone try to pervert our purpose. We may lose a few of our sisters in spirit by keeping our secrets, but it is necessary. That part really sucks.

Few of the baby-slayers even have any idea that we haven't everything. That's why we both thought Nyx would be called after Faith dies, and Vi after her. The rest of the Scooby Gang thought the Line was ended with the activation of the minis, but we knew otherwise. This was not the first time that all the Potentials were Awoken, that there were two Chosen, even, but all the knowledge was lost.

We made sure of it.

I hung up with the Watcher after convincing him that we weren't dead, kidnapped, or headed that way and tuned in on what my own Watcher was saying to my little sister.

As they debated what could have made the fail safes around the Chappa'ai, well, fail, I frowned and looked out the window trying desperately to avoid dropping into memories that were not my own. In my haste, I latched onto another thing I didn't want to think about- Sam.

Sam and I were born five years apart, and Mark and Jack five years before her. Still, being the only girls in the family, we were close. Even Dawn and Lexi couldn't break us apart when they were born. Sam taught me everything she learned about as soon as she thought I could understand it; she really annoyed my teachers that way. She also did her best to shield me from how unhappy our family was- Dad had withdrawn when Mom died in labor, barely even speaking enough to name the younger set of twins, and the boys were mad at Dad for staying away from us girls and for not going to pick Mom up when she called the night she died. For me, everything was fine, even with moving so much, because I had my big sister.

I got my first hint when the older set of twins went off to college and Lexi went along with Jack. Then Sam went off to the USAFA and I was sent to our Aunt Joyce and Uncle Hank with Dawn. After the incident at Hemery, _three years_ since I had seen her, she came to visit me in the institution I'd been committed to. I begged her to listen as I explained my Calling, but her logic-based mind wouldn't let her. I pleaded as she walked away and she didn't even turn. My family had deserted me.

So, when I moved with Dawn to Sunnydale, I changed my name legally, and so did she. Elizabeth and Dawn Carter were gone- we were Summers women now. It seems, though, that the Carter and Summers women may need to work together, but that didn't mean I had to forgive her or even _like_ her.

_Cheerful much, B?_ My other sister made herself known.

_Faith! Are any of my thoughts private?_

_Not when you're projecting, sis. I swear Vi looked like she might be picking up on something. Cool it, kay?_ I sighed mentally, keeping my face carefully blank.

_Sorry, Fai. Was that all?_

_Unless you count Kennedy trying to take over again, things are five by five. Or as close as they ever are._

_You'd think she'd have realized by now that she's no challenge to a Chosen… Especially with our tempers._ Our mental selves exchanged slightly feral smiles, the primal essence of the Slayer shining in our eyes, as we watched each other fade from sight. I was grateful she knew when to pry. Not that that always stopped her.

I returned to the physical realm just in time to get out of the car at our hotel before Giles go suspicious. Good thing, too, because that would be way of the badness. It's not that I don't trust Giles and the other Scoobies, even with the rough patches we'd been through, they were still my family. But it would be chronicled if they knew, and we can't allow that. The Council wouldn't always be the way it was then. It would eventually become corrupt again, and the Slayer would again fight alone. We hated it, but it was the truth. It was kind of sad that the frequency of that happening wasn't wiggy anymore.

As we walked up the stairs Giles filled me in on what they had guessed so far while I pretended to listen, a skill I'd gotten quite good at over the years. I was trying to figure out what, to me, was the more urgent matter: Why we hadn't been told about the 'Gate before and why President Hayes was telling us then. If we had to pull the military's collective ass out of the fire one more time, heads were going to roll… with no guarantee that the Joint Chiefs' wouldn't be among them. I was grateful we had the spare manpower we needed for this.

At least we were joining their fight (which was originally ours) and not the other way around. No way was I teaching a bunch of gun-toting trigger-happy condescending military know-it-alls about the fuglies that had no real curfew. Why not, though? It might be good for them, knock them down a peg or two… _Yeah, right. Because that worked so well last time. Gah. Stupid Initiative. They didn't even have cool clothes._

Dawn opened the door before we could pull out the keys, talking a mile a minute.

"So, Dawnie, what's the sitch?" I waited until she had taken a breath to speak, otherwise she'd have never heard me.

She gave me the Look. The one that said "I know that you know and I'll eventually make you tell me everything", before speaking in a no-fucking-duh voice I'm positive she learned from Faith. It was almost scary how close those two were.

I suppose it made sense she'd have an idea about our secrets- she is the Key, after all. Sometimes she has weird memories while doing her portal-travel thing and might have seen something. Oops, she's talking.

"The Slayer of the time didn't feel the wards go off for some reason or didn't know what they meant. Also, the military is highly unlikely to relinquish any control of the 'Gate willingly, especially when they don't know what we do. We may have to tell them abo-"

I cut her off "No. We'll prove our claim. Prove we can fight. Maybe tell them of old fights against the snakes. No further explanations necessary. Or don't you remember the Initiative?"

She then gave me the standard Summers glare, which I was actually rather proud of her for "Of course I do. But they might need to know that we buried the 'Gate in the first place as well. It could help cement our claim that we know what's out there already, rather than sit through all of the condescending bluster that everyone uses when dealing with 'children'." Hmm… She actually had a point. Damn it.

I made a show of groaning "Fine. Why'd you have to be so smart?"

"Because if I wasn't you'd have to show everyone how you got such high SAT scores." She grinned, while Giles looked confused at her quick rejoinder. My poor Watcher. So smart, yet so oblivious. And, wait for it… Yup. There were the glasses.

"Chill, Giles. There's nothing of the badness just yet. Save your glasses for when they start."

He gave me his own Look, saying "you're acting like an idiot American, now bloody stop it", but I just shrugged. What could I say? I got that look a lot.

"We should probably go grab some grub and talk about what we want to do with this. We do have a meeting tomorrow, after all."

"Quite right. Henry suggested a place called 'O'Malley's', a steakhouse I believe it was. Shall we?"

Dawn and I smiled happily and ran out to the car. As we passed, I barely picked up what Giles said next, sounding exasperated.

"Oh, dear Lord…"

Jack POV

I groaned, leaning back in my chair. Had I ever said how much I hated paperwork? Probably. I glanced at the clock and sighed, wishing I could go bother Daniel about his rocks or watch Carter in her lab. But no. I had to decide whether we should order more mac and cheese - also known as chicken - MREs. Joy.

I heard a knock on my door, my head shooting up when I heard the voice of my beautiful 2IC, the rest of Sg-1 standing behind her.

"Sir?"

"Yeah, Carter?"

"We were headed out to O'Malley's for dinner and thought you might like to join us."

I started to smile and then frowned as I looked at the piles of folders on my desk.

"Doctor's orders, sir. You're overworking yourself." She gave me that mischievous smirk that always seemed to make my day a little bit better. Or make me look for a good hiding spot. Still, I was shocked- Carter was on base more than me, and I had to run the damn place. She seemed to notice this, and rolled her eyes.

"Just go with it, sir. Please." She looked upset about something… and like she wanted to talk. I could never really turn down spending time with her anyway.

"Yeahsureyabetcha."

We pulled up at our favorite hangout, which we were allowed to return to a few years back when they finally got over our little "scuffle". I hurried around the car and opened the door for Carter. She giggled, looking a bit more cheerful. _Success._

"No giggling, Colonel."

"Yes, sir!" she responded with one of her wide grins as we walked in.

We met up with Danny and T at our usual table, ignoring the glare we received from the manager. Each of us ordered some form of steak or ribs, relaxing into the family we had long since become. Teasing Spacemonkey about his latest kidnapping, asking T about Ry'ac, and easy banter between me and Carter. With Danny butting in to try and get us together, of course.

I was glad he at least knew how to be subtle- it made him easier to ignore. His comments really weren't helpful. I already knew I was in love with Sam. I'd seen her at her best and at her worst, and she had done the same with me. We'd saved each other's life more times than I could count, and she knew me better than anyone. I had her every expression memorized, and knew what I could say to prompt each. I'd been in love with her for years and if I ever stopped, it wouldn't be in the near future. But she was with the liar cop. What was his name? Ah, yes, Pete. She was _engaged_ to Pete. And… she was staring at another table with a hint of pain in her eyes.

He found the table in the mirror back behind the bar just as a loud burst of laughter stretched through the room. I barely contained my shock at its occupants.

A beautiful young brunette was wearing a look of mock-outrage as she glared at the apparently easy-going man, none other than the Mystery Man himself, who had a small smirk of accomplishment with an affectionate gleam in his eyes as he looked at his companions. Plural, because sitting next to the annoyed young lady was Ace, an infectious grin on her face as she laughed, a hand on the table for balance. Where was the cold, lethal woman I met just a few hours ago?

"Carter?" I was getting kind of worried by then.

"Wha- Sir?" She snapped out of it, but she couldn't fool me. I knew her too well.

"How do you know them?"

"I don't, sir. I couldn't even find anything about them in the databases, no matter how hard I tried, and-"

"Sam." My use of her first name seemed to make her realize just how serious this was- we needed to know as much about these people as possible, especially when they knew about eh Gate and had the President on their side. The realization that she hadn't been able to find anything on them was equally worrisome.

"I," She paused "I really don't know for sure-"

"Carter."

"-but she looks like my little sister. The brunette, too. Elizabeth and Dawn Carter."

Now that was surprising. I'd never heard of sisters from either her or Jacob. She looked kind of ashamed though. "What happened?"

She sighed, looking at the table. "You know Mom died because of a car crash. What you didn't know is that she was taking Dawn to the doctor and Eli was with them. She told the paramedics to save her daughters, not her, and Dad couldn't take it. I as good as raised them both. Mark and his twin Jack raised Lexi, Dawn's twin. Eli and I were especially close, even though I'm five years older. But I had to go eventually and I when I was accepted into the Academy, I couldn't put it off anymore. While Jack and Mark left, taking Lexi with them, Eli and Dawn went to live with our aunt and uncle in LA.

But something happened. Something changed her from my challenge-loving genius little sister who was looking forward to teaching 'Dawnie' everything I had taught her, into a fashion-obsessed cheerleader. Practically your stereotypical blonde Californian airhead. And three years later she was expelled for burning down the gym at her high school during a dance. She was committed to a mental facility. I took leave to visit her and find out why. I was planning on getting her out, but she just kept babbling about vampires, slayers and being 'called' or 'chosen'. She begged me to listen, said she had proof, but I just walked away.

She was released a few weeks later, changed her and Dawn's names to Summers like Aunt Joyce and never spoke to us again."

There was a wet gleam in her eyes as she told us her story and I wanted so badly to hold her to me and tell her it wasn't her fault, but I had to settle for putting my hand over hers and sending a comforting look her way. She turned her hand so she could hold mine, squeezing it a little in thanks. She held on a moment longer before we let go. We couldn't afford any more than that, especially with that cop.

As I began to analyze the consequences Carter's story could have if our mysterious guests really were her sisters (and how I had never known she had four other siblings), Daniel spoke up.

"You know, I think I've read something about slayers in some demonology writings I've come across. Actually, the man who sent me the book, a Dr. Giles, was one of the only academics to take my theories seriously. Do you remember what exactly she-"

"Daniel." Now was definitely not the time for this.

"Jack." Was that a whine I heard?

"_Daniel._" As my too-inquisitive friend rolled his eyes and _shut up_, I chanced another look at the table of potential-Carters; they were still talking, but the brunette _Dawn?_ seemed to be watching us discreetly, while Mystery Man looked slightly worried and a lot pissed off. Ace was still lounging comfortably, but her eyes were again flickering about, seeming to see everything that happened- and if her expression was anything to judge off of, she might hear everything, too. That wasn't possible, though. _No more impossible than pyramids as landing pads for aliens and falling for my 2IC. So maybe possible. Crap. Except she's human. Yeahsureyabetcha. Nothing to worry about_.

Each of them sat facing an entrance, Ace having the prime position against the wall with a clear view of the main doors and the bar. She gave a neutral smile as someone entered the bar.

"O'Neill, Major Davis has just entered this establishment."

"Yeah, T, thanks." I followed his trail with my eyes as he sat down with the other three we had been watching. "For cryin' out loud." I muttered as the group continued to talk, seemingly about something more serious. Unfortunately, they were too far away and there was too much noise for even Teal'c to hear what they were saying.

Ace stiffened, staring at the door. I turned to look, but I didn't know what had set her off. It was a young couple, a little pale, and their clothes were kinda odd, but seemed normal overall. They looked kind of hungry as they glanced around, before something odd happened.

The girl looked at Ace and the other girl, who were now all out glaring at them. They actually looked pretty damn scary and apparently the newcomer agreed as she grabbed her companion's arm. He looked up hesitantly, seemed to swear quietly, and turned to leave. The girl threw a panicked glance over her shoulder one last time before letting the door slammed shut behind them.

I turned towards my family in surprise "I wasn't imagining that, right?"

"No, sir- they acted like they were scared of Eliz- Ace."

"Indeed it was so, O'Neill. They acted like predators that had accidently entered a place where they became the prey."

"That was… odd." Daniel put in his two cents "It felt like I knew them, or others like them, like from when I was… gone."

"Oh?"

"It felt like they were… different, like I should be afraid even though I'd never seen them before. It was disconcerting."

I looked up to see what our almost-stalkees thought of the quick retreat, but Major Davis was alone with his coffee.

They were gone.

**A/N: Okay, made some more noticeable changes here, mainly in regards to the Carter family (background, siblings, etc.). Sorry about that, but I realized that some of what I have in later, currently untyped chapters didn't coincide with what I already had written. Again, I apologize- the storyline in my head keeps changing.**


	3. Interlude: Dawn

Dawn POV

I knew Buffy was upset about something- something she wouldn't tell me about. At first I thought it was a mixture of finding the Chappa'ai (Stargate, Astria Portia, whatever) and dealing with the Air Force, which our family was intimately connected to. It wasn't until dinner at O'Malley's that I was certain this was not the case.

We were all laughing and having a great time, teasing each other and enjoying great food. Then I noticed the wait staff were all looking fondly at one table in particular; Buffy was looking as well while Giles tried to be discreet while watching them. So I called over the nearest server and asked about them- if something was of the weird, I didn't want to wait to find out.

The woman was a gossiper and more than happy to oblige, telling us about their temporary ban and what had caused it. She also told us about how the "beautiful blonde" and the "silver fox" reminded her of Romeo and Juliet.

_Oh, they don't talk about it, but it's obvious to anyone who sees them together. The group of Marines who sometimes come for drinks talked about them too. Brig. Gen. Jack O'Neill and Lt. Col. Samantha Carter were nice people and it was no wonder they had fallen in love, but-_

That's where I tuned out. Sammy. That's what threw my impossible-to-surprise sister off. I couldn't really blame her either. The last time either of us saw her was before we left LA; she didn't even come to Mom's (technically Aunt Joyce's) funeral or get the KIA notice for Buffy, though the latter was probably for the best. Even without her now being very much _alive_, it had been issued by the President. Add in that she's a civilian not yet in her thirties and there would be lots of questions we'd rather not give out answers to. Thankfully Sam was the only immediate family we had listed, so our other siblings never found out either.

Now I took over watching them for Giles while he started ranting about our issues with our blood family. Again. It's not like we have issues with _everyone_. We get along with the boys, Lexi, and their kids just fine. Especially Thera and Zoe. Zoe's training to be a Doctor for the ICC, and Thera is on the Command track, like her half siblings (who are related to her on her father's side- all we know is that she has to be either Lexi or Sammy's kid). We only really have issues with Sammy and Jacob. And Hank, of course.

Of course I already knew the two were in love- Sammy and General Jack, I mean. I could see their Claim on each other- it was practically screaming in their essences. I was surprised to see a ring on her finger- didn't that waitress say they weren't together? So who was she engaged to?

I kept my body relaxed as I felt a flash coming- I get visions of things in other dimensions and realities, some of them even in the past or future. I have no control over them and can rarely understand them, so I tapped my fingers to tell my sister and let them come. This time, I saw the couple in question.

_Staring at each other through a force field as a building_ship?_was about to blow, desperation clinging to their every movement; admitting feelings to some kind of lie detector; talking on an empty ship- I can tell by the stars outside; Sammy and a cop kissing; Dad dying; Jack comforting her with a whisper of "Always"; cop gone; regulations not; can't be together;_need _to be together;__a little girl, the name Grace echoing through my mind; a fighter jet crash landing; an Iranian prison camp; Thera, my little niece, training with her siblings and foster siblings; a giant, rotating ring; words, Sg-1, SGC, Tok'ra, Anubis, Asguard, Nirrti; more images, colliding, coming faster and faster and faster and-_

I came back to myself when Buffy poked me, before introducing me to Major Paul Davis as "Dusk". He knew who we were (though not our original names, thank the Goddess), but we learned long ago not to take chances. We discussed the meeting tomorrow, which I _would_ attend, when Hayes would arrive, and how much we should tell.

The door opened, and my blonde Slayer sister stiffened as the two vamps entered the steakhouse. I almost laughed when they fled from the "Summers glare" we sent their way. If they thought that was bad, they should see what she aimed at my potential boyfriends. Then again, she's the Slayer, so maybe the vamps do have more reason to be afraid… Whatever.

Then Buffy related the odd conversation that was occurring at the Air Force table. I wonder what mini-Giles meant by "gone"? Or how he sensed vamps without even knowing what they were, for that matter. I was surprised the Jaffa didn't know, but we could find out why some other time.

We left, taking the USAF table's confused looks as a last bit of dinner entertainment and leaving Davis alone with his coffee, and no little paranoia. As I thought about what the coming briefing would be like, one thought held center stage in my mind.

_This is gonna be interesting._


	4. Interlude: Davis

Davis POV

I can't believe this is happening. I'm sitting, drinking coffee with three of _the_ most powerful, influential, and/or _dangerous_ people on the planet, and they were talking about ice cream. As a snack for tomorrow. During a meeting with President Hayes himself. A meeting during which Sg-1, who had done and sacrificed so much, would find out that the planet wasn't really theirs to protect. That it was literally in the hands of _children_. Well, not anymore, but still… Jack especially wouldn't be pleased. Still, as long as nothing happened that was, well, _out of the ordinary_, they should be fine.

Now there was a thought. Sg-1 and the Scoobies attracted trouble like demons to a Hellmouth. It didn't matter that only three of the Sunnydalers would be in attendance, it would probably be enough to cause some major problems.

I would have to make sure it was agents Todd and Miller who accompanied the President – at least they knew to take the Slayer seriously.

Aw, hell. Who was I kidding? I called over a server and ordered a steak and fries.

It was customary, after all, to have one last good meal before my execution. And MRE's didn't fit that definition.

At all.


	5. Interesting Meetings are still Boring

Narrator POV

It was ten o'clock when the meeting began. President Hayes sat at the head of the table with Hammond, O'Neill, Carter, Dr. Jackson, and Teal'c on his right and Ace, Dusk, and the man introduced as Ripper on his left. Special Agents Kate Todd and Graham Miller stood at attention behind him after nodding to the Scoobies, and Major Davis was in front of the screen with a remote and the expression of a man who had been lead to his doom.

Sg-1 stared at the visitors with undisguised curiosity, but if you looked closely, Jack was suspicious and protective, Daniel looked like he'd just been invited on the archeology dig of the century, Sam looked at the girls with a mixture of reserve and hope, and Teal'c… had his eyebrow raised in an expression no one could read. The visitors' eyes kept roving around the room, no expressions except a slight smirk as they seemed to hold a silent conversation. Hammond looked impassive, and Davis watched all of them and whimpered. The DC delegation had gleefully amused smiles as they imagined the coming conversation. The narrator could see why; watching O'Neill and Ace go up against each other would certainly be something to see.

The Major pulled himself together and started talking, still looking pale. "I suppose, General O'Neill, you would like to know why three strangers are on your base?"

"And why the President seems so amused?" Sarcasm could be clearly heard as he spoke.

"It would be nice, Major." Hammond let only a little of his curiosity show, sending the former Colonel a warning glance. "I'd like to know why I'm here, too."

"The answers are the same- the Stargate belongs to their organization." Paul winced at the rather _vocal_ reactions of the members of the SGC. "Quiet! I can't explain it very well myself, but if you'll just let them-"

"Explain what? That they're NID?" Jack said this, obviously.

"General O'Neill, listening might help." Hammond next.

"Sir, they can't explain if you don't stop talking." And lastly, Sam, some snark noticeable in her tone. The narrator thought O'Neill was proud that he'd corrupted her to that point and that Hammond sadly accepted it to be inevitable. Ace thought it was normal- they'd never been the most obedient of children, after all.

"Why Carter, are you telling me to shut up?" The former leader of Sg-1 had a faux-stern look on his face.

"Did I say that, sir?" Came her inane reply.

He chuckled "Fine. Continue, please." His temporary good cheer left as he turned back to his "guests".

The narrator watched in amusement as a biro and notepad appeared in Ripper's mind, making a mental note that none of the military contingent seemed at all surprised at his behavior with the woman he assumed was his second in command before he spoke. "Simply put, the device you call the Stargate is, and has always been ours, ever since the ones you call the Ancients gave it to us before abandoning our dear planet."

"And you expect us to believe that? How do we _know_ you're not NID?" Angry, now. The narrator shook her head sadly. Humans could be so predictable.

"How do _I_ know you won't betray us for personal gain?" And Ace matched him, albeit in a milder tone. Still, the narrator winced. Accusing the military man of being lacking in honor was not a good idea.

Indeed, his face grew hard and his eyes cold. "We don't do that."

"And we have only your word. Until we know you better, that means nothing. All I will tell you on that subject is that I hate the NID. I do not ally myself with them or their colleagues. They have a nasty habit of sticking their noses into things best left to others. Arrogant wankers." She finished in a mutter, the annoyance that had shown through so clearly having disappeared. Now, however, it sallied forth yet again.

"Add to that the fact that you have undone hundreds of years of work and simultaneously disrespected a great sacrifice the likes of which you cannot _hope_ to _ever_ understand, and I think you'll begin to see my side of this."

A weariness and longing entered her eyes before she quickly shoved them behind a mental burrier. Only the Jaffa caught the quick show of emotion, but he discerned one thing more than even Ace realized. A faint light of hope. Heaven, the narrator mused, still held a lot of pull over the blonde; it didn't matter how much she had to live for.

To an inexperienced observer, there would only be annoyance and anger in reaction to her words. If someone looked closely, though, they could see pain in the eyes of the inter-planetary travelers; Dr. Jackson thinking of Sha're, Janet, and Sarah; Teal'c of his family and Janet; Carter of Jolinar, Janet, her family, various boyfriends, her time in the Gulf, and her CO.

The narrator noticed this Janet person was a common theme. The tiny doctor had certainly left her mark on the group. The narrator returned to its observations.

O'Neill, it seemed, had the most on his mind. His marriage, Kawalsky, Skarra, Merryn, the ever-present Janet, the Gulf War… and his 2IC took precedence over them all.

The narrator shook her head. It was true that they could not comprehend the sacrifice Ace spoke of, but after all they had lost they wouldn't take that statement sitting down. Especially from one they viewed as a child, no matter how great a misconception.

"Don't you _dare_ say we don't know about sacrifice. You don't know us, and for all your claims you don't know what we've been through. Surely you've realized by now how dangerous making assumptions can be." Surprisingly it was Carter speaking, glaring at the shorter blonde girl with a familiar fire in her eyes that had Davis worried without really realizing why.

Ace spoke again "I said nothing of the sort, though I do apologize for your assumption." Carter's glare upped a notch at the subtle barb, but the smaller woman kept talking. "I didn't intend to insult what you've lost," her voice was softer, more empathetic "but you do not know the facts of what happened when the Stargate was buried as we do. I will never know how it was done- there are not people with that caliber of courage and hope left alive. Not in this universe." Her face was closed, but her eyes were laden with respect, sadness, and a weariness that echoed in the eyes of every other person in the room.

The narrator sighed; these groups of people had lost so much. It hoped they wouldn't lose even more to each other.

"Apology accepted." The oldest woman in the room spoke quietly now, recognizing somewhere in the most ancient, instinctual part of her brain the truth in the words spoken.

"I'd also like to apologize for snapping like that; maybe you could explain things more so we understand what's going on a little better?"

"Accepted. Unfortunately, this meeting will take long enough as it is without adding in that explanation- it's a particularly long one. Major Davis, if you would continue, please. I promise we won't bite."

For reasons unknown, this did little to comfort the pale major at the front of the room. Perhaps it was the smirks…

The president laughed, his agents struggling not to roll their eyes. Well, Todd was. Miller looked like he was trying not to join in. "Yes, please do, Major. They promised they'd try to behave, but something tells me boring them won't help."

Ripper hid a small smile, a quiet "Indeed" barely heard by the room's other occupants. Ace and Dusk through mock glares his way while the Tauri of Sg-1 chuckled and glanced at Teal'c.

It was then the narrator noticed the position of the three blood-sisters. Dusk's hand sat on Ace's shoulder, and her foot was just barely touching her oldest sister. The narrator smiled a bit and tapped into the calming energy the young Key was channeling, and fell asleep. The narrator could watch them again another day.

**A/N: School's finally out! Except for that whole summer PE thing... Anyway, this combined with the fact that I might have found a Beta should mean more updates for you poor readers. Be warned though, I'm also joining CAP, helping my sister prepare for college, and trying to get fit so I might actually have a chance when it comes time to apply to the Academy, so they mightn't be coming all that much faster. Anyway, enough of my excuses. Any feedback on the different POV? I don't know if I'll do this again, but I was curious. Oh, and there's more to this chapter that I'm adding later (I condensed/revised parts of the earlier chapters and decided this needed to be longer, but since I'd already posted it I decided not to be cruel and just left if up). Reviews and flames are mutually appreciated, and ideas for the future even more so.**

**KL**


	6. Adoption

Okay, I'm really sorry about this (especially as I'd actually found a Beta) but this story is discontinued. I actually have a few more chapters written up, but I am completely stuck as to the actual plot and making things happen. Now, I personally hate when stories I'm following meet a sudden end, but I'd rather have people ticked at me than a subpar story. It also doesn't help that I've got other characters running amuck in my head now that really don't have much (ie- anything) to do with SG-1 or Buffy who keep trying to work their way into the story and I am at my wits end. I might be persuaded to type up the rest of what I've got and post it, but I believe I can safely say this story is up for adoption.

Thanks to everyone who followed or reviewed this story, but it seems my attention span and higher brain functions just weren't up to the task.

KL


End file.
